Ozonizer.



F. H. RICHARDS.

OZONIZER.

APPLIOATION FILED DEG.10,1912.

Patented Sept. 30, 1913.

.177 Fen for: 7

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, or HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB, '10 JOHN PARKER MoRRIs, or NEW YORK, 1v. Y.

OZONIZER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 30, 1913.

Application filed December 10, 1912. Serial No. 735,953.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ozonizers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of ozonizers having Concentric tubes, and relates more particularly to means for mounting the tubes concentrically in the apparatus.

A principal object is to provide devices for supporting each of a pair of vertical tubes on self adjusting rings or members, whereby variations in the angles, as between the axis of the tube and the planes of the ends thereof, will be automatically adjusted by the weight of the tubes, and whereby this adjustment may be effected in such a manner as not to strain the tubes by the heating and cooling while in use. These improvements, therefore, permit and favor the use of plain cylindrical tubes and avoid the necessity of any difficult or expensive constructive preparation of the ends thereof.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a portion of a box or chamber having mounted therein one pair of tubes, these being shown in section and arranged in accordance with my present improvements. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a preferred form of ring support. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line J-J, Fig. 1, showing the two tubes in section, and the rings and support therefor, in plan view below thetubes.

Similar characters designate like parts in all the views.

For convenience of illustration I have shown in the drawing, a pair of tubes mounted in a chamber of which the lower wall or base, B, Fig. l, is the support for the apparatus, the top of the chamber being formed of the horizontal wall T, which may be carried by side walls forming the outer casing of a box or chest, as C. In

practice,a chest or chamber of this kind may be made of any desired size, as required for inclosing several tubes arranged in a group or row, and several of these groups or rows may be arranged in the same chamber or compartment, following a well known practice in this art.

In manufacturing tubes for use in ozonizing apparatus of the general class herein illustrated, it is a matter of considerable importance and economy to be able to furnish the tubes all of a given standard of length. One advantage is that a tube of a given diameter may then be used as the outer tube of a pair of relatively small tubes, and may also be used as the inner tube of a pair of relatively larger size, in chambers of the same height. In cutting the tubes to length, it is not practicable to so form the ends as to bring them accurately to a plane, nor to have the plane of the endsurface come to exactly right-angles to the axis of the pair or set of tubes. In order,

therefore, to meet those conditions, as'well The outer tube D is shown guided through an opening in the upper wall T by a packing ring 79 which, in practice, should be of a soft asbestos or other insulation material not liable to strain, and thereby endanger the safety of the tube. Through the packing 7) the tube I) is preferably extended upward for a short distance for the purpose of receiving a closing head, h, which is shown provided with a lip p, this head setting into the tube after the manner of a cork or stopper and so as to be readily removed therefrom. The lip 10 operates under the suction of the air circulation within the tubes to draw downwardly against the three .supporting devices, 8, s and 8", which are shown contacting at their upper ends with the said head h. The supports 8 s s are preferably three in number since they are arranged for the purpose centering the inner tube E within the outer tube D. In the present instance this result is accomplished by forming these supports with a slot in the lower ends thereof for setting down over the inner tube-end, as shown, for instance, at 3, Fig. 1, of the tube E. The said supports 8 I prefer to make of some fiber, such as asbestos suitably molded and of a slightly yieldable texture, and to have them so made as to exert only a gentle pressure between the tubes, and at the same time not be in danger of combustion from the effects of the electric currents.

The head it serves as a support for a rod 5 serving as an electric conductor; this head may be held in place by collars, as 4, L, and may be provided with any desirable number of some suitable kind of contacting points, as 6, 6, distributed along the inside of the tube E. It will, of course, be understood that the inner side of the inner tube E, usually from about the point 7 downwardly to about the line J-J, may be covered with a metallic foil or conductive covering applied to the inner surface of the tube, and that a similar metallic foil or covering will be applied to the outer surface of the outer tube D, in accordance with a well-known present practice in this class of apparatus.

The tube-supporting ring R, which is arranged for carrying the outer tube D, is shown provided with a shoulder at 8, on which said outer tube rests as if on a shelf. The lower side 9 of the ring R is shown shaped to a spherical form, and is arranged for bearing on the similarly curved endsurfaces of the outer posts or columns, as 12,

12, 12". As a result of this arrangement, the end of the tube D automatically shifts the horizontal position of the ring R for distributing the downward pressure of the tube about equally throughout its entirecircumference, or at a sufficient number of points to avoid injurious strains. It will be understoodthat the ring R should, in practice, be made of a non-conducting substance, for which purpose I prefer to use an asbestos composition; but other suitable substances may be employed in lieu thereof.

The inner tube E is shown supported at its lower end on a shelf, at 10, which is formed on the outer side of the ring N, whose lower surface 13 is shaped to a spherical formation resting on a corresponding annular surface 13 (Figs. 2 and 3) which extend entirely around the inner circumference of the ring supporter, this being in the nature of a frame-work, designated in a general way by F. This frame or ring-carrier is shown provided with a base flange, as 7, which rests on the base B, and with a downwardly projecting locating-ring 15, which is held in place by insertin g thesame in a suitable opening, as at 16 (Fig. l) in the base In the foregoing arrangement, as will be observed, the ring R is placed at a considerable distance above the ring N, thereby providing a space of suflicient magnitude, as indicated at the arrow 17, Fig. 1, through which the air may be drawn by suction, or otherwise, downwardly from between the tubes. In practice, the height of said side opening should be sufficient to afford a free outlet for the air which is thus drawn downward. This air draft may be conveniently produced by applying a fan or other suction apparatus to the outlet, at 20, of the chamber C. The effect of applying the suction is to draw the air into the center tube through the central opening 22 of the member F; the air then passes up through the ring N,-by which it is prevented from escaping laterally,then up through the middle tube the entire height thereof and then over the upper end of the inner tube, (as indicated by arrows in Fig. 1) into the space between the two concentric tubes D and E.

When the tubes are assembled in the manner above described, the operator in case a tube is to be replaced may shut the current off from the rod 5, and using this as a handle draw the head it out of the tube D, and then may draw the inner tube E upwardly to examine the same and to replace it with another tube if required; these operations may be very quickly performed, and thus, in case of the fusing or bursting of a tube, or other accident, the apparatus may be repaired in a very short time. In practice, it is desirable to have the head h located sufiiciently far above the top T, so that the operator may look through the outer tube, as indicated for instance by the arrow 25, Fig. l, and thus be able to observe any such illumination or like electric phenomena as may be occurring within the chamber C.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In an ozonizing apparatus, the combination with a pair of concentric tubes having between them an annular space, of a self-adjusting upper ring for the outer tube and having a tube-bearing shelf on its inner side; a lower self-adjusting ring for the inner tube and having a tube-bearing shelf on its outer side; a ring-supportingframe member having an annular lower bearing-surface for the inner ring and ringsupporting bearing-surface for the upper ring, and having side-outlet air-passage space located at a height between the two rings.

2. In an ozonizing apparatus, the combination with a pair of concentric tubes having between them an annular space, of a selfadjusting upper ring for the outer tube and having a tube-bearing shelf on its inner side; a lower self-adjusting ring for the inner tube and having a tube-bearing shelf on its outer side; a ring-supporting framemember having a continuous annular lower bearing-surface for the inner ring and a plurality of segmental bearing-surfaces arranged for supporting the upper ring at a height for thereby providing air-outlet space located between the two rings, substantially as described.

3. In an ozonizing apparatus, the combination, with a pair of concentric tubes having between them an annular air space, of a self-adjusting upper ring for the outer tube and having a tube-bearing shelf on its inner side; a lower self-adjustin ring for the inner tube and having a tube-bearing shelf on its outer side; a frame-member having a continuous annular bearing-surface for supporting the inner ring and thereby packing the lower end of the inner tube against air currents thereunder; a plurality of pillars arranged on the frame for supporting the upper ring, the frame having airoutlet space located as to vertical position, between the two rings and located circumferentially between said pillars.

4:- In an ozonizing apparatus, the combination with a pair of concentric tubes of substantially equal lengths and having between them an annular air space and arranged for the inner tube to extend below the outer tube, and for the outer tube to extend above the inner tube, of a pair of:self adjusting rings one for the outer tube having the tube-bearing shelf on its inner side; and one for the inner tube and having a tube-bearing shelf on its outer side; a ringsupporting member having a continuous annular bearing-surface for the inner ring, and having bearing-surface for supporting the upper ring, and arranged with air-outlet space between the two rings, and a tubeclosing device at the upper end of the outer tube with an air-passage over the upper end of the inner tube.

5. In an ozonizer apparatus of the class having a pair of concentric tubes with an face spherically formed, and a ring-supporting frame-member having an annular bearing-surface for the lower ring, and having bearing-surface for supporting the upper ring, and with air-outlet space between the two rings, substantially as described.

6. In an ozonizer apparatus of the class having a pair of concentric tubes with an annular air-space between them, the combination of an upper ring for the outer tube provided with a tube-bearing shelf on its inner side and having its lower surface spherically-formed; a lower ring for the inner tube provided with a tube-bearing shelf on its outer side and having its lower surface spherically formed; and a ring-support arranged for holding the rings concentrically of the tube axis and at different elevations, substantially as described.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS. \Vitnesses:

FRED. J. DOLE, JOHN MORRIS. 

